Cattle
The Joy of Raising Highland Cattle
Add to Favorites Story & Photos By Tom Fuller – Cattle have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and Highland cattle are by far …
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Tips on Properly Giving Cattle Injections
Cattle injections are often necessary — vaccines, antibiotics, injectable vitamins, scours, etc. These should always be administered properly to be effective, minimize residues in the meat if the animal will be butchered later, minimize injection site lesions, and reduce the risks for adverse reactions.
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How to Start a Cattle Farm on Small Acreage
Learning how to start a cattle farm throws you into the deep end of the homesteading pool. Cattle are large beasts and require strong fencing, water, grazing land or feed and a plan.
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Fenceline Weaning: Low-Stress Weaning Method
Fenceline weaning is perhaps one of the less-stressful methods of separating cows from their calves. Weaning time has traditionally been traumatic for calves and mama cows and also the people weaning the calves.
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Calving Success: How to Assist a Cow Giving Birth
The riskiest time in a calf’s life is being born. Several million calves in the United States and Canada are lost each year during birth or shortly after, and 45 percent of those deaths are because of dystocia (delayed or difficult birth).
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Akaushi Cattle Provide a Delicious, Healthy Meat
Add to Favorites By Heather Smith Thomas – The word Akaushi means red cow in Japanese. Akaushi cattle were introduced to the U.S. in 1994. “This is the only free-grazing beef …
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Dealing with Diphtheria in Calves
Diphtheria in calves is generally more serious — and more noticeable — than in adult cattle. Diphtheria is an upper respiratory disease and is an infection and/ or inflammation of the vocal folds of the larynx (voice box) at the back of the throat.
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How to Tube Feed a Calf
Add to Favorites By Heather Smith Thomas – There are times you must get fluid into a newborn calf that needs colostrum or a sick calf that needs fluid and …
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Tips for Successfully Raising Bottle Calves
When raising cattle, you may encounter the challenge of a young calf orphaned or rejected by mama, needing a bottle from you.
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Dexter Cattle – The Ideal Family Cow
Homesteading is about simplicity, self reliance, and doing as much as you can with as little as possible, always with an eye on the bottom line.
So when it comes to considering large livestock, selecting an animal species or specific breed that provides multiple benefits should be the goal.
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Artificial Insemination is No Bull (Literally)
Most homesteaders dream of having their own cow to provide fresh milk and dairy products for the whole family. The challenge is, a milk cow must become pregnant before she can lactate, and that means you’re going to need a bull—unless you use artificial insemination (AI).
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How Much Hay Does a Cow Eat?
After you unload the first cattle onto your property, your next biggest concern will be how to keep up with the demand for food. Knowing a
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How to Treat Colicky Calf Bloat
Some calves develop calf bloat, an acute enterotoxemia (toxic gut infection), caused by bacterial toxins. These calves are usually about a month old but may be as young as a few days of age or as old as two to three months.
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Diagnosing and Treating Hardware Disease in Cattle
Cattle occasionally swallow foreign material such as pieces of wire chopped up by a baler. Hardware disease in cattle occurs when a sharp object penetrates the gut lining and damages some other organ or creates peritonitis (infection within the abdomen).
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How to Create a Cattle Pasture for Optimum Flavor and Fat Cover in Grass-fed Beef
With Spencer Smith – Creating the right blend of forages and grasses in a pasture to finish (fatten for slaughter) cattle is not as simple as turning the cattle out to grass. It requires timing the “finishing season” for maximum flavor and health benefits.
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